The Nigerian chapter of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) a private, non-profit German Foundation (committed in both vision and activities) has in Abuja called on the Federal Government to address voter apathy in Nigeria.
At the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Public Discuss at the Chelsea Hotel CBD, Prof. Freedom Onouha, of the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka in Enugu State, hinged voter apathy on insecurity, socioeconomic challenges, electoral violence, and distrust in the electoral process.
“The loss of faith in those electoral bodies and electoral process is the number one reason why we are having low voter turnout,” Onouha said.
Onouha, who was the guest speaker,
observed a growing sentiment among Nigerians that their votes no longer matter, resulting in widespread disillusionment with the electoral system.
“People are beginning to feel that the electoral body is not conducting elections that enable their votes to count.”
Onouha observed that politicians frequently use large-scale violence to win elections, which creates discomfort and fear among voters.
“Increasingly, we are seeing our politicians mobilise violence in a large scale, on a disposed scale, in order to win an election.
“That, in itself, is causing a lot of discomfort. People are not really prepared to risk their lives to vote in an election,” the don said.
He noted that the Southeast experienced the lowest voter turnout in both the 2019 and 2023 elections.
This, he explained, stemmed from a perception among citizens in the region that their votes were inconsequential, leading to a significant disconnect between voters and the government.
Lennart Oestergaard, Resident Representative of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), emphasized the critical need for collective action to combat the challenge of voter apathy.
He said: “The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation has accompanied Nigeria on its journey for Democracy since 1976 and we are very proud to celebrate 50 years of partnership with Nigeria next year.
“This year is the 100th year jubilee of the foundation, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung was the first democratically elected President of Germany who died 1925 he was someone who really fought for democracy.
“Democracy is the daily activities of the people, democracy can’t function without democrats the people must be part of every process including elections. In the last three elections in Nigeria there has been a decline in voters participation. This is a development which raises question
“One thing is common in Germany and Nigeria which is that sometimes people who do not go to vote simply don’t believe that their votes will make change.”
Dr. Fatima Adamu, Executive Director, Nana Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative, in her paper presentation, pointed out the need to tackle insecurity, which has affected women’s participation in the electoral process.
“Women really complain bitterly about the violence during campaigns, the same thing during election. So that needs to be addressed.”
She also called for voter education and representation of quality leaders, particularly women.
Responding to Persecondnews correspondent’s question on complex nature of voters registration and voting process leading to over 20 million uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in 2019 and over 6 million in 2023, Dr. Olanrewaju Oladejo, said the region was the most affected due to large number of uncollected PVCs.
Oladejo, who is the Coordinator of the Southwest Region Nigeria of the research report findings on “Addressing Voter Apathy in Nigeria”, noted: “Youths from the region always take advantage of the election period to play soccer on the streets and most family use the election holiday to bond instead of going out to cast their votes.”
Lennart Oestergaard, the Resident Representative of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), stressed the need for collective action to address the challenge of voter apathy.
“If people do not make use of their right to vote, then that is a challenge, and it has to be addressed.”
On his part, Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, the Director-General of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), reiterated his institute’s commitment to supporting efforts that deepen democratic values and foster a culture of active, peaceful citizenship
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